Senate Delay of Asbestos Bill Disappoints AIA

The American Insurance Association (AIA) on Wednesday urged the U.S. Senate not to shelve national asbestos litigation reform after the chamber delayed debate on a bill that critics say is underfunded and would wind up costing U.S. taxpayers billions to bail out. The full Senate voted Wednesday 59-41 to send S852 to the Senate Judiciary Committee for a financial-impact study. The Senate failed to waive a budget point of order raised against S852 by Sen. John Ensign, R-Nev. The point of order argued that the legislation violated provisions of the Budget Act. Sixty votes were needed to set ...